A case report of a 19-week gravid patient with a dehisced abdominal wound and treated with V.A.C. ATS(®) Therapy System

Abstract

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is an effective treatment for various non-healing wounds, and V.A.C.(®) Therapy was the first-approved NPWT device by the Japanese government in 2009. We report the case of a 19-week pregnant patient where V.A.C.(®) Therapy was applied to her dehisced laparotomy wound with satisfactory results. The patient was a 30-year-old female who was referred to our hospital from her previous doctor because of the presence of an ovarian cyst on the left ovary. The patient presented at 14 weeks into her pregnancy, and surgery was considered because of no reduction in the size of the cyst. An oophorocystectomy was performed, and then the surgical incision was re-opened at postoperative day (POD) 10 due to a surgical site infection. V.A.C.(®) Therapy was initiated on POD 26 (20 weeks of pregnancy) and continued for 28 days. After 28 days of V.A.C.(®) Therapy (POD 54), the wound was sutured for complete closure. The foetus did not experience any adverse affects from the surgery and, subsequently, normal vaginal delivery was achieved. This case is the first report of the use of V.A.C.(®) Therapy over a dehisced abdominal wound on a pregnant patient in our country.